I’m interested in getting a spiral cutterhead for my DW735. I’ve been looking online and have read about the Byrd Shelix, Journal head from Global, and the Accu-Head. I use the planner regularly so I need the upgrade. The HSS blades are making me crazy. It seems that the Byrd and Global are comparable in quality and price($400-$450). The Accu-Head is $250. I’m sure that it’s one of those “get what you pay for” kind of things, but I just wanted to get some feed back from you guys. I’ve read some of the reviews on this site but they are a few years old.

I bought the Byrd Shelix from Holbren for my 735 and have been very pleased. Installation is pretty straight forward if you’re mechanically inclined. I think there’s a topic on here with pictures showing how the installation goes. If not Google it. The only thing I found out that wasn’t explained in the instructions was with the normal knives there’s a clip that prevents the blades from rotating backward. It isn’t needed with the Shelix head so it can be discarded. If you run into troubles, post here I or numerous others can help out.Yes, it does leave a very, very slight scallop that’s easily removed with light sanding.

as far as I remember the byrd is a true helical and uses a shear cutting action (cutters are set at an angle) – making it more efficient, quieter, and with a cleaner cut as opposed to the accu-head which has the cutters set parallel to the cutterhead and is more like the regular HSS blades – only with smaller replaceable cutters.

Hey Mike, I was recently in same boat as you. I have a 735 that I didnt want to mess w/ the blades anymore so was looking at the different options out there. I ended up going with the 15” grizzly w/ the spiral head. I considered picking up the normal 15” and buying the Byrd cutter separate (it was just about the same price), but from all the reviews I’ve read, People dont report much of a difference between the different spiral configurations. All of that is very subjective.

I planed about 50 bd ft with the new planer this weekend and I was very pleased w/ the performance. I think you’ll be happy with whatever route you go.

Got the Byrd Shelix head for my jointer in April and upgraded my 15” planer the next month. Incredible all the way around—ultra smooth cut and unbeliveably quiet! I got these from my buddies at Ballew Saw & Tool here in Springfield, MO and at 10% off list (best deal I found on Byrd). Their catalog doesn’t seem to list the Shelix for your DeWalt, but call them because I know they can get whatever you want.